


To Survive All Else - Addenda & Appendices

by Angeluscaligo



Series: To Survive All Else [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Video Game), LEGO Harry Potter (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bavarian Erkling, Beauxbatons, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, Canon Compliant, Canon Expansion, Clurichaun, Curupira - Freeform, Doxy, Dunter, Durmstrang, Dwarves, Erkling, Fairy, Farfadet, Fatori, Ghouls, Goblin - Freeform, Goblin Laws, Hatstalls (Harry Potter), Heir of Slytherin, Hidebehind, Hogwarts, Hogwarts Houses, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - Freeform, Hogwarts ghosts - Freeform, House Heir, House Herald, Ilvermorny, Lamia, Magical Creatures, Magical Realism, Nari - Freeform, Ogres, Parselmouth history, Parselmouths, Parseltongue, Pogrebin, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Sprite, Stalwarts, The Herpean Holocaust, The Roman Conquest, The Roman Empire, Time Travel, Time Turner (Harry Potter), Trolls, Uagadou (Harry Potter), Uagadou School of Magic, Yeti - Freeform, Yumbo, demiguise, gello, head canon, house-elves, ilvermorny school of witchcraft and wizardry, imp, kobold, leprechaun - Freeform, mormo - Freeform, pukwudgy, redcaps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:47:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 11,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24167596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angeluscaligo/pseuds/Angeluscaligo
Summary: A place to put all of my extra-canonical stuff, so I don't have to stuff it within the main-story of "To Survive All Else". Consider this my personal version of Pottermore.
Series: To Survive All Else [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1744252
Comments: 5
Kudos: 6





	1. On Time-Turners and 'Tempus Itinerantur'.

“... And as such, after numerous trials and experiments, all conducted in the secure safety of the Department of Mysteries, Croaker's Law remains astute and unbendable. Five hours thus remain the limit in which one can remain in the past, before the extended presence of a future-asynchronous entity begins to cause irrepairable harm unto the direct material world and local time-space continuüm as dictated per Newtonian Mechanics and Einsteinian Relativity.

It was also observed, ever since testing began, that Time-Turners can be specifically constructed as to force their user to obey the Novikov Self-Consistency Principle (as stipulated by noted Muggle Physicist Igor D. Novikov), both on a subconscious and conscious level. In effect, the user can not force themselves to disrupt the time-stream in such a way that self-erasure or the un-birthing of other individuals becomes a possibility. As of March 1983, all Ministry-created Time-Turners are constructed upon this principle effect – which had the added benefit of further stabilizing the Hour-Reversal Charms that lie at the core of Time-Turner creation.

As of March 1991, this principle of Self-Consistency has been proven mathematically by Muggle-born Wizarding Physicist David Deutsch, using Muggle computational devices – in which was proven that quantum computation with negative delay can only produce self-consistent solutions in polynomial time, thus also solving various well-known P-Space problems in polynomial time. Exceptions have been proven by the Department of Mysteries, but they only strengthen the resuls of Deutsch's research in all regards.

...

As per Confederation Laws, Time-Turners are also limited to their Single Hour leap-limit. And per those same Laws, all Time-Turners are re-constituted after each recent event recognized as a Historical Moment. As explained in Chapter V, this thus limits the Time-Turner's Leap-Horizon to its reconstitution after such event, preventing nefarious individuals from too greatly altering the past in their favour and detriment. Furthermore, recent Confederation Laws have limited the amount of Time-Turners per Ministry to one per thousand citizens under that Ministry's control (not including pre-Confederation devices of similar design, which remain categorized under Familial Heirlooms and are thus exempt from Communal Artefact stipulations).

Kronos, the agency responsible for international guidelines as adopted by the Confederation regarding Time-Turners and all other time-travel devices, also remains the sole entity capable of tracking and registering all time-travel as performed by Magicals and Non-Magicals (to date, no Non-Magical has managed to time-travel without the aid of a Magical or a Magical Artifact. Kronos, however, remains of the unanimous conviction that this shall not remain so, to the scorn of many Ministries and Administrations worldwide. Wether they are correct shall only be proven in time).

...

As of August 1973, proclaimed by the British Wizengamot and the Confederation Council, illegal use of a Ministry-approved or stolen Time-Turner is punishable by seven years conditional confinement in Azkaban, or by twenty years unconditional confinement in Gaol.”


	2. On Hogwarts Heralds and Heirs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regarding Heralds and Heirs to the four Houses of Hogwarts, and the Four Founders.

“The position of Herald is a contented one in regards to Hogwarts' accepted Sorting ceremony. However, from the perspective of the Founders and taking in regard the rather argumentative nature of the Sorting Hat, it is a necessary one. The Founders early on recognized that those most typically representing their desired atributes were not always Sorted into the House they best represented. As such, the position as Herald was created to re-allign these features while still taking in respect the decisions the Sorting Hat would make.

Initially, Salazar and Gryffindor opposed this decision – as it was a point first proposed by Helena Ravenclaw, who was the first to recognize the potential problems not creating such a position could cause down the line. She was, of course, thinking rather long term, in spans of decades and centuries, rather than just mere years. She and Helga Hufflepuff proposed the creation of the position somewhere in the thirteenth year of Hogwarts' existence, supported by most of the staff. Creation of the position took the better part of seven years, eventually leading them to create the Founders' Statues as a way of determining those who best represented their values.

Since then, the Heralds have been the focal point of controversy numerous times, often due to their rather dual nature in most of these cases. Most contentious amongst all is when a Gryffindor is declared the Herald of Slytherin – or vice versa. The tricentenial rivalry between these two Houses, once considered almost blood-brothers of sort, has made such cases quite sensational, often leading to a forced re-Sorting due to extreme prejudices occuring against the Heralds within their own Houses. Most ignoble of all was the accidental death of Barnabas Collins, a Herald of Slytherin, Sorted into Gryffindor, in the early 18th century, which turned the rivalry into a veritable blood-feud.

Subsequent Headmasters and Headmistresses have attempted to quell this feud and prevent it from explosively spinning out of control. This was met with moderate and respectable success, until the apointment of Albus Dumbledore, the current Headmaster, saw the attempts of quelling the feud come to a practical stand-still (with no small disgruntlement from various quarters, most often from the traditionally Dark noble families).

The Ministry has never officially held a stance on the matter of Heralds, though they have early on regulated the matter of Heirs in a rather skewed manner...

…

Thus, by decree of the Wizengamot, approved in december 1599, Heirs are legally required to register at the Ministry when their descendance from the Founders Four is determined by the Blood-Wards embedded in Hogwarts' foundations during its creation. After they are decreed by the Founders' Statues as an Heir, they are legally obliged within a fortnight to register at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, in the Administrative Registration Department for ammendments to all Ministry-files on their persons. Failure to do so can result in a thousand Galleon fine or a three-month sentence to Azkaban, depending on the circumstances and economic standing of the offending party.

Heavily contested during the creation of this Decree, was an ammendment that would have enabled to hold any Heir legally responsible for any crimes commited by the Herald of their House. Initially incorporated into the legal text as a precaution, to prevent a forfeiture of legal responsibility based on ancient lord-vazal bylaws, it was soon dropped when the person responsible for it was swiftly rendered bankrupt by offended parties. More subtle stipulations replaced this proposed ammendment, only holding the Heir responsible when a Herald acted in their explicit stead (which, is to say, means that there is verifiable evidence proven to be untampered with and legally binding within trial-jury requirements and laws).

Since the Decree was approved, only two Heirs were ever found guilty of negligence of responsibility, the most notable being Tom Marvolo Riddle, later known as the Dark Lord Voldemort, for his involvement in a skirmish whereby a second-year student was grievously, yet non-fatally, wounded by the Herald of Slytherin. He was later absolved in a re-trial, as requested by Lord Abraxas Malfoy, during which Riddle was found not guilty of failing to hold back the Herald from aggravating the incident during previous conflicts between the parties involved.

…

Indeed, only twice has it been documented that a single person was declared Herald of multiple Houses. In comparison, it has been documented two dozen times that a person was both Herald and Heir, usually to two different Houses. Only once was one person declared Herald to two Houses and Heir to a third House – this being the case of Meryn Moridunon, who was Herald to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and Heir to Gryffindor. Curiously enough, in these three unique cases, no actual blood-relation was ever brough to evidence, even when the family-histories of each individual were retraced back thirteen generations. As such, there is speculation in certain research-groups that these cases are weak evidence of proven reincarnation, though there are many detractors to these hypothesises, usually pointing out that pure chance is more attributable to these events that reincarnation can be.

Still, the fact remains that at least one of these persons later in life became famous for recovering several artefacts of their ancestor, long thought lost yet swiftly refound by them. Wether this can be counted as evidence of reincarnation or rather as evidence of being well-connected remains a point of contention amongst many opposing groups.

…

So, by May 1898, there was the issue of wether or not an Heir had legal rights to artefacts once belonging to their ancestor that were by then considered public property and historical artefacts of significance. The issue had lingered in legal limbo for many decades by then, and public opinion began to twist in favour of the Heirs legally reclaiming their ancestral property. However, by this time, Gringotts began meddling with the issue, publically declaring that as a Goblin creation, the Sword of Godric Gryffindor could never legally belong to a descendant of Godric himself, as Goblin Laws state that a Goblin creation only legally belongs to the individual contracting the creation and paying the fees for that act. Once that person legally dies by Goblin and Wizard Laws, the private property is forfeit and ownership of the creation switches to the Goblin Nation as a whole.

Threats of a new Goblin Rebellion, together with several disinformation campaigns from varying fronts, soon saw the Wizengamot retract any legal precedents that could have decided in the favour of any descendants, eventually declaring that, when not a Goblin creation, all such artefacts are considered property of the Wizarding world as a whole after a period of two centuries after the death of their original owners/creators.

Officially declaring Founder artefacts and heirlooms as public property in October 1900, the Decree was enacted with retroactive effect, essentially removing several well-known artefacts from private property and turning them into public property by January 1901.

However, certain artefacts, such as the Cup of Helga Hufflepuff (not to be confused with the Cauldron of Helga Hufflepuff, which can be viewed at the Museum of Wizen History in Caerdydd, Cymru) and the Locket of Salazar Slytherin (a replica of which can be viewed in the Museum of Ancestral Gifts, also in Caerdydd, Cymru) were never legally retrieved, due to certain Oaths regarding Familial Secrets & Mysteries preventing their private owners from being publically identified. As such, these artefacts remain de-facto 'lost', with their current where-abouts unknown.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Caerdydd, Cymru is also better known as Cardiff, Wales.
> 
> Merin Moridunon is an allusion to a famous sorcerer, rumoured to have been born in Carmarthen, Wales.
> 
> Barnabas Collins is an allusion to a famous cult-series from the 1960's.
> 
> Goblin views on property were only mildly touched upon in the books and movies - and it did say that goblins consider all they make as only their property. When a witch or wizard 'owns' it, they're merely paying rent, so to speak.


	3. On Hatstalls and Stalwarts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On Hatstalls and Stalwarts, their Position in Hogwarts' social dynamics, and of meddlesome Headmasters.

“As for the phenomenon where the Sorting Hat can truly find no good definite option to sort a child in, we speak of it as Hat-Stall. In general, a Hat-Stall occurs when the Hat takes longer than four minutes to decide on a House. As a rule, favoured by statistical evidence, it occurs once or twice a year, usually somewhere between four and five minutes. Only rarely does a Hat-Stall last longer than that, with the longest recorded Hat-Stall being 75 minutes – recorded in 1783, (NAME REDACTED) being sorted into Slytherin.

As for the much rare phenomenon of Stalwarts, we have only two recorded instances (ca. 1564 and ca. 1800), both occasions the student being sorted into Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Stalwarts are those about whom the Hat can make no genuinely distinct decision. It occurs when the student's desire to fit in two Houses is equally as strong as the Hat's logical reasoning that they would fit in both Houses and neither House would confer a genuine benefit or change for the better or worse.

Statistically, Hat-Stalls chances are 1/1500, where as Stalwarts chances are roughly 1/145.000. Historians, however, have changed the definition of Hat-Stall throughout Hogwarts' history. Initially, it denoted to anyone whereby the Hat took longer than half an hour – a definition used until the 13th century, when the Hat took a while longer to define what would best define the Houses and what they desired to see in students. After the 13th century, the definition was changed to cases where Sorting took longer than fifteen minutes – which was changed again in the 17th century, shortening the time further down to the current four minutes.

Each time, the definition was changed to better fit the circumstances, subtly altered each time so that a Hat-Stall would, indeed, occur only once per 1500 students roughly. Initially, historians believed this to be an arbitrary decision by the Hat and the active Headmaster of that time – however, the discovery of a readily-available copy of the Carta Tum'Arthul (the Hogwarts School Charter) in the 16th century proved that the 'position' of a Hat-Stall was actually an amendment made by the Four Founders.

In essence, it is an informal position akin to that of Herald, a rallying position for children's curiosity, perceived as a ploy to promote inter-House unity. Research indicates it was proposed, initially, by Salazar himself, apparently in worry that House rivalries could become unmanageable otherwise. Indeed, it seems that the ploy does work – as Hat-Stalls are somewhat regarded as points of interest across all Houses, often allowing those individuals to build up a rather interconnected social network across all Houses. Historically too these individuals have often successfully assuaged certain bitter points of contest across the centuries, often laying the groundwork for later successfully arbitrations to end such semi-feuds.

…

However, in 1955, under Headmaster Dippet's administration, per request of then Head of Transfiguration Albus Dumbledore and Head Custodian Apollyon Pringle, there was a request to once more re-define the period of time designating one a Hat-Stall. Per Dumbledore and Pringle's request, the time-period would have been ten minutes, up from four minutes. The reasons were different for each request.

Dumbledore reasoned that ten minutes would remove what he called a 'position of power' from being bestowed upon children not ready for it more often, citing the corrupting influence of peer-pressure and idolisation as the main-factors of why he wished to restrict the number of times it would be 'heralded'. Pringle's reasoning was that 'the less Hat-Stalls were around, the less cantankerous shits would be about to ruin his days and defile the castle with their (REDACTED)'. Needless to say, the request was denied – by both the Board of Governors, and most of all, by the Hat itself.

'Though you might, in foolish haste, think to declare a worm a snake, to say it was so would only be, in eyes of the reasonable and stubborn, a declaration of insanity and folly. I am a Thinking Cap – not a mindless parrot for you to dictate on.'

The motion was rejected, in 1955, 1956, 1957 – and in 1958, the Board of Governors introduced an Amendment declaring that only the Sorting Hat has the authority to re-define the period that declares one a Hat-Stall. Further changes to the definition would thus be only at the discretion of the Hat, as the Four Founders had wished it so.

In 1971, Headmaster Dumbledore, having succeeded Dippet several years prior, attempted to introduce an Amendment that would declare a Hat-Stall only as such when officially recognized by the Headmaster, in an attempt to circumvent the Amendment concerning Hat-Stalls introduced in 1958.

The request was rejected in 1971, 1972, 1973 – and in 1974, another Amendment was introduced that actively declared that only the Hat and the Statues were allowed to officially declare, recognize and demote Hat-Stalls, Stalwarts, Heirs, and Heralds.

This effectively removed the Headmaster's power of any decisions regarding these 'positions', preventing any interference in what the Board declared were 'historical positions, decided upon, defined and defended by the Founders themselves – positions that are as critical to the very fabric of what defined Hogwarts as were its walls, wards and foundations. To allow any biased Headmaster, or any other staff-member who was never part of the Founders' council, to alter these positions either directly or by proxy, would be tantamount to actively tearing down Hogwarts' walls. As such, these positions, as defined in this Amendment, are now declared unmutable unless declared unanimously by the Sorting Hat, the Founders' Statues, the Founders' Portraits, the Board of Governors, the Staff of Hogwarts, and the Wizengamot.'

Since then, several Governors of the Board have actively lobbied to further limit the Headmaster's duties and power solely to the hiring of staff, the regulation of Hogwarts' upkeep, etcetera...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always found the concept of Hatstalls woefully underdevelopped and underappreciated in Rowling's canon work. It seemed like such a significant thing when we first became aware it was a rare thing to happen, yet - like with so much of the stuff she vaguely alludes to, it was never really explored further.


	4. On Parselmouths and the Herpian Holocaust.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the history of Parselmouths in Southern Europe and the Mediterrenean across the Common Era (ca. 1000 BC to 1985 AD).

"The Herpian Holocaust, so named after Herpo the Foul, who is widely believed to be the root-cause of the events that instigated this historical occurrence, did lead to the near-extinction of all Mediterrenean wixen-cultures, both Illume, Dark, and everything betwixt. The Roman Conquest, happening just a few hundred years later between 190 BC and 400 AD, undid whatever recovery had happened in the time between, further restricting the rather precarious recovery of old knowledge for a period of almost 600 years. During this period, wixen communities had trouble expanding beyond their previous borders and all manner of research or recovery of old knowledge was hampered by the presence of the Roman magistrates and their enforcement of Romanising local cultures.

It resulted in the first known recordings of several feats of magic now classically classified as Dark Magic. These include, but are not limited, Basilisks, Horcruces, Sphinxes, and Subnalea.

…

The end of this war saw the Mediterrenean wixen-communities impoverished to less than a quarter of their numbers prior. This, combined with the mass migration during the conflict, left the Mediterrenean wixens reduced to less than 700 individuals across the board, no matter their heritage. It took 2000 years before their population reached pre-conflict numbers, only exceeding this number by the year 1898, when census reached 20.000 wixens alive across the whole Mediterrenean region.

...

By 400 AD, there were no Parselmouth communities extant within the Roman Empire – and within greater Europe, their presence had become limited to just a few dozen individuals. By 900 AD, around the time that the groundworks for Hogwarts were laid, Salazar Slytherin was one of just thirteen individuals left with the ability.

Yet, outside of the Indo-European socio-economical sphere of influence, Parseltongue remained remarkably extant and stable. Especially in India, there were many thriving Parselmouth communities until the late 19th century. During the 18th and 19th century, many individuals from these Indian wixen communities emmigrated to the New World, to join with Native-American Parselmouths in the American wixen-communities.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Herpo the Foul was responsible for more than just the creation of Horcruces, I'm afraid. More will be told later on ;)


	5. On Loch Shiel's Selkie Colony and Culture.

"... and thus, on Yule's full moon's eve, in the year 1259, the Ministry of Magic, with aid of Lord Malfoy, on the behest of the Queen of the Xrstylvahl Clan of the North-Sea Selkies, and with approval of His Royal Majesty Henry III of Winchester, of the House of Plantagenet, King of England, Lord of Ireland, Duke of Aquitaine, the Queen-spawn along with a third of the Xrstylvahl Clan were alotted Loch Shiel, also known as Black Lake, or the Great Lake, as their new permanent abode, under the protection of the Headmasters of Hogwarts, present and future, and recognized as Beings (despite their being classified as Creatures, due to ongoing conflicts between Centaurs, Merpeople, Hags, and Vampires).

Castle Tioram, later known as Dorlin Castle, was constructed at the only connection between Loch Shiel and the North-Sea, on a tidal island that was hidden from view when at sea, by Magister Ruaidhri by decree of the Ministry, as to protect the only sea-entrance to the Loch. A Panopticon keeps watch over the river Shiel at all times, registering all creatures that pass through it as to warrant the protection of the clan. By 1689, with the signing of the Statute of Secrecy, the Castle was hidden from view by various spells, giving it the appearance of a ruinous heap of rubble (due to its historical presence and the spelled appearance, it given the status of Scheduled Monument by Muggle authorities in August 1920, preventing any tampering with the castle's structures from Muggles. This was encouraged by the Ministry.).

…

Thus, in March 1260, 76 members of the clan relocated to their new home, under leadership of Queen-spawn Murca the Wild. They settled in an area of the Loch roughly 12m deep and about 850 meters south from Hogwarts Castle, in a flat fluvial mud-plain a bit south-west of the Hogsmeade Station, in a small basin that is inaccesable to the Kraken.

In the intervening years, the Clan has kept in check the wild Grindylow populations, preventing them from breeding too excessively and decimating the Loch's ecosystem, especially after the local Kraken specimen started habitually hibernating for years on end around the 18th century.

By 1980, the colony was led by Merchieftainess Murcus IV, Murcus the Fierce, counting 321 members across roughly 200 family-units. The oldest members (starting from around 60 years of age, counting them as old since Selkies reach maturity at 12 years of age) routinely leave the colony, to join older colonies in the North-Sea, in an exchange of culture, stories, and genetics. This leaves room for new families and prevents an overpopulation of the limited area of the Loch.

…

And while the Clan observes the Traditional Feasts, they observe them in a private setting, usually in the comfort and privacy of their village, far out of sight of the Hogwarts and Hogsmeade populace. Indeed, with the rather strict suppresion of the Traditional Feasts within wixen culture in the United Kingdom, a direct reaction on the opressive regime Grindelwalt attempted to impose upon Europe, most Illume families no longer react positively on any such celebrations, observing them as tainted and corrupt, a reminder of darker times.

Still, before the ascension of Headmaster Dumbledore, it was not uncommon for Hogwarts' Headmaster to observe these rites in union with the Merchieftainess and the Queen of the Loch, to strengthen Wixen-Selkie relationships and embolden the magic of such shared rituals. No longer now, it seems – unless public opinion drastically changes for the better.

…

… are mostly centered around their communal plaza, which is build around a statue to Achelous, the Titan of the Ocean, Father to all Siren-Spawn and many magical creatures that inhabit the deep-sea. Curiously, this statue bears an uniquely Greek design, undoubtedly influenced by Sirens having originated from ancient Greece. Indeed, they had many close relations with Greek wixen-cultures across the millenia before the Roman Conquest and the Herpian Holocaust. Their rather vilified identity in Muggle mythology seems to be a consequence of these two events.”


	6. On Exchange Students between Institutes.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the history of exchange programs between the various wixen educational institues of this world.

"... And so, on 31th April 1909, the Ministry agreed via unanimous vote to an exchange project between Hogwarts School of Witccraft and Wizardry and Uagadou School of Magic, per request of Headmaster Nigellius Black and Ophete Mampuru VII. Seventeen students exchanged places from 1910 to 1917, allowing them to specialize in the local education and magical focus of their host-schools. This enabled a greater understanding between the two schools, which has regretably deteriorated since.

As of 1980, the official collaboration between the schools is considered defunct and no longer of note. Attempts have been made by Wizengamot members to re-invigorate this relationship between Hogwarts and Uagadou, but Headmaster Dumbledore has stoutly resisted all such attempts. As of 1985, Ophete Mampuru VII has called a Taboo between him and Headmaster Dumbledore, essentially rendering any future cooperations impossible until such a time that Headmaster Dumbledore is replaced.

…

In contrast to Hogwarts' rather late exchange-program with Durmstrang Institute, the exchange program with Beauxbatons Academy of Magic has been in place since the 14th century. It has always been an amicable rivalry, further deepened by the presence of both schools in the Triwizard Tournament (which has seen the two schools at odds, each vying for the most victories gained, currently standing each at 62 victories).

The exchange-program between Hogwarts and Beauxbatons exists of twenty students, spending three school-years at their host-school. Furthermore, students wishing to study a specialisation-year after their standard education can apply for this at either school, provided they have the necessary grades for their respective host. Beauxbatons standards are higher than Hogwarts', owing to their lengthy education-period, starting at 9 years old and ending at 17 years, two years longer than Hogwarts'.

Hogwarts, however, currently holds a higher standard in Potions and Transfiguration specialisations, each requiring perfect grades across all years for application. Considered a rather impossible standard by many, it can be levied against similar grades across all other disciplines to allow for entry.

…

However, Ilvermorny has consistently resisted all exchange-program applications with Hogwarts and Durmstrang, no doubt due the personal history of their Founders, who had disastrous experiences with Hogwarts' personel and Durmstrang's curriculum (the dark Arts are a Forbidden Subject at Ilvermorny, counting still after these long years. Anyone seen using a Dark Art is immediately expelled from the institute, for life).

Nonetheless, Ilvermorny allows for a student to move between schools when they relocate to the USA, the only exception they allow. As such, if a Hogwarts student wishes to study at Ilvermorny, they would have to legally emigrate to the USA and be living there for at a year before they can apply for a scholarship at Ilvermorny.

The only exception to this rule is to any students previously educated at Durmstrang – they can not legally apply for scholarship, no matter their legal status in the USA or the number of years they've already been living there. Ilvermorny consistently recites that 'the Durmstrang curriculum is ever at odds with the very principles upon which Ilvermorny was founded by Isolt Sayre. As such, no matter their contributions or their personal beliefs, no student of Durmstrang can be allowed to be taught at Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'.

Prior to 1945, this resulted in a Taboo between the two schools, but after the fall and imprisonment of the Dark Lord Grindelwalt, concessions were made by the Headmaster of Durmstrang to restrict certain aspects of their education on the Dark Arts. This was, eventually, rewarded from the side of Ilvermorny in 1955, allowing the first ever exchange-program between the two schools to happen. Ten students spend three years at each school, and this exchange-program has repeated since every five years.

And as of March 1986, Ilvermorny has allowed for Durmstrang alumni to pursue specialisation programs at their institute, under strict guidelines, for no more than three students at any single moment...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ophete is the official position of Headmaster at Augadou, derived from the Zulu-word of 'master'.
> 
> Mampuru VII is based on the IRL Mampuru II, who was an early independence figure for South-Africa and Africa in general. The prison where he was executed for his actions was renamed after him in the 2010's.


	7. On Magical Creatures - Troglodytarum and Lamarium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the relations between species in the subtribes Troglodytarum and Lamarium, as cognate separate collections of species in the tribe Homini, set apart from the non-magical subtribes Homo and Pan.

“Trolls belong to the genus Troglodytarum, and the genus encompasses five different species; 

Forest Trolls (Troglodytus Arborea)  
Mountain Trolls (Troglodytus Mons)  
River Trolls (Troglodytus Fluvius)  
Nadroj Trolls (Troglodytus Nadroj)  
Yeti (Troglodytus Nix)

We shall discuss the characteristics of these species in the next five chapters...

…

Lastly, we shall discuss the Yeti, the only species of Troll acutely adapted to the biting cold of the snowy Tundra and high mountain-peaks. It is, then, no surprise, that Yeti are solely encountered, naturally, in the Himalayan mountain-range (which is their historic place of origin). Small colonies of Yeti have been introduced in the Andes mountain-range, true, but their size is strictly controlled and each member of the colonies present there is magically tagged to transmit their location at any point in the day. Contraceptive charms, together with a thightly-controlled euthanasation-program for aged individuals, thus keeps their numbers below a certain treshold at all times.

...

Ghouls and Ogres belong to the genus Lamiarum, and the genus encompasses eight species; 

Ghouls (Lamia Pan)  
Chameleon Ghouls (Lamia Mutatus)  
Ogres (Lamia Brutus)  
Demiguise (Lamia Lapsus)  
Hidebehind (Lamia Corum)  
Lamia (Lamia Lamia)  
Mormos (Lamia Terror)  
Gellos (Lamia Gellos)

...

Hidebehinds are the hybrid offspring between Demiguise and Ghouls, the result of the illegal importation of Demiguise into the continental USA (the Demiguise in question mated with a stowaway Ghoul and the offspring escaped unto the mainland when the boat docked. They are ferocious man-eaters and their population is strictly controlled and kept low).

...

Lamias are a single-sex species of shapeshifters, the result of an ancient bloodcurse having originated from the region between Lybia and Greece (thus making them a variation of Maledictus, with much older origins and having become a species on their own). They reproduce by killing pregnant women and devouring the unborn children (female fetuses are carried to maturity and birthed under the light of a full moon – carrying the bloodcurse through gestation, they are born as new Lamias, ready to perpetuate the curse and species. Male fetuses are simply digested.)

Two subspecies exist within the Lamia genus, being the Mormos and the Gellos.

Mormos are akin to Boggarts, able to shapeshift into whatever their prey fears the most. But, whereas the Boggart has developped this ability in order to survive being preyed upon and to escape from their pursuers, Mormos use this ability to terrify their prey to enable them to easily kill and devour them. Mormos, like Lamia, have a preference for pregnant women, but they do not devour the fetus to perpetuate their species (in their case, the fetus is simply extra calories). No, Mormos reproduce through biting prey and infecting them with the bloodcurse (much akin to werewolves, a case of parallel evolution concerning the transmission of the curse). Infected prey will succumb within 6 months and, when perishing to the effects of the curse on the body, instantly resurrect as a newly-born Mormos.

Gellos are a more subtle variation, as they look almost completely human, they too being born from a bloodcurse on a human. However, like the Lamia, they like to attack pregnant women and steal the fetus. Like the Lamia, the Gellos then ingests the fetus and carries it to term, birthing a Gellos in the end. However, should the woman attacked survive, she shall be barren for the rest of her life, a consequence of the bloodcurse she now carries. And when the woman dies, like with the Mormos, she will be reborn as a Gellos, seeking out a victim from whom she can steal the child to birth and rear as her own.

However, in the cases of Mormos and Gellos, they are not undead. Indeed, the 'death' they experience is merely a magical coma of sorts, during which the bloodcurse fully transforms the body and the magical core into its respective host needed to further the infection eventually.

Note, too, the importance of the full moon in the cases of the creation of a Lamia, Mormos or Gellos. The transformative effects of a full moon are clear here, as they are in the case of lycanthropy (which is another form of bloodcurse, similarly)...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trolls belong to the genus Troglodytarum (canon, from the illustrations by Jim Kay for the DVD-box of "the Philosopher's Stone")
> 
> Lamia (/ˈleɪmiə/; Greek: Λάμια), in ancient Greek mythology, was a woman who became a child-eating monster after her children were destroyed by Hera, who learned of her husband Zeus' trysts with her. Hera also afflicted Lamia with sleeplessness so she would anguish constantly, but Zeus gave her the ability to remove her own eyes.  
> "Lamia" was also used as a bogey word to frighten and discipline children.  
> In later traditions and storytelling, the lamiai became a type of phantom, synonymous with the empusai which seduced youths to satisfy their sexual appetite and fed on their flesh afterward. A fabulous biography of Apollonius of Tyana defeating a lamia seductress has inspired the poem Lamia by Keats.  
> The lamia has been ascribed serpentine qualities, which some commentators believe can be firmly traced to mythology from antiquity, and they have found analogues in ancient texts that could be designated as lamiai (or lamiae) which are part-serpent beings. These include the half-woman, half-snake beasts of the "Libyan myth" told by Dio Chrysostom, and the monster sent to Argos by Apollo to avenge Psamathe (Crotopus).
> 
> Gello (Greek: Γελλώ), in Greek mythology, is a female demon or revenant who threatens the reproductive cycle by causing infertility, miscarriage, and infant mortality. By the Byzantine era, the gelloudes (γελλούδες) were considered a class of beings. Women believed to be under demonic possession by gelloudes might stand trial or be subjected to exorcism.
> 
> Mormo (Greek: Μορμώ, Μορμών, Mormō) or Mormon was a female spirit in Greek folklore, whose name was invoked by mothers and nurses to frighten children to keep them from misbehaving.  
> The term mormolyce /mɔːrˈmɒlɪˌsiː/ (μορμολύκη; pl. mormolykeia μορμολύκεια), also spelt mormolyceum /mɔːrˌmɒlɪˈsiːəm/ (μορμολυκεῖον mormolukeîon), is considered equivalent.


	8. On Magical Creatures - Goblini

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the relations between species in the subtribe Goblini, as cognate separate collections of species in the tribe Homini, set apart from the non-magical subtribes Homo, Pan, Troglodytarum, and Lamiarum

The subtribe Goblini encompasses, per current agreement, twelve species and subspecies, divided in four seperate genus;

  * Goblins (Goblin Goblin)

    * Dark Goblins (Goblin Umbra)

      * Kobolds (Goblin Cobula)

    * Pukwudgy (Goblin Pukwudgy)

    * Leprechauns (Goblin Telwyth)

      * Clurichaun (Goblin Telwyth 'Noxius')

      * Gnome (Gernumbli Gardensi)

  * Imps (Gernumbli Noxius)

  * Pixies (Pix Pixis)

    * Doxy (Pix x Gernumbli 'Noxius')

  * Fairy (Fae Faerus)

    * Sprites (Fae Nagras)




Kobolds are one of the oldest species of goblins in the world, having originated from ancient Greece. Originally a coastal species, they made their homes in sea-caves and subsided on a diet of seaweeds, fish and mollusks. However, the increasing presence of humans drove them further and further underground and away from the coast. Eventually, Kobolds retreated fully underground in the mountains and adapted to a life without sun-light. Before this, proven interactions between Kobolds and humans stretch back as far as 10.000BC, via pottery and cave-paintings.

From this, eventually, sprang forth the more common goblin species, with the Dark Goblins being the ancestral species to those goblins magicals are most accustomed to interacting with, namely the “light” Goblins. Dark Goblins, separating from Kobolds before the latter had made their full transition to an underground existence, kept to the darkness of caves and only roamed the land outside under the dark of moonless nights. This kept their interactions with humans, initially, to a bare minimum, with only limited sightings recorded before 2.100BC. After this date, Dark Goblins were routinely depicted on various terracotta works of art.

From 1.200BC onward, a different type of goblin (the “light” Goblins) were beginning to be depicted alongside the Dark Goblins. By 300BC, Dark Goblins were almost never again depicted, with light Goblins taking their prominent place in art. This evidently marked a transition back underground for Dark Goblins, who have since become more akin to their Kobold ancestors.

Why this happened is a contested event, indeed. Some posit that light Goblins arose from Dark Goblins as a subspecies more suited and able to interact with humans and survive above-ground in the open daylight. This can be proven, to a degree, by the extreme photosensitivity Dark Goblins display when exposed to the various components of sunlight (UV of bandwidths 400-1300 nM display the most extreme reactivity, causing enormous amounts of blistering and thaumal trauma to their magical core). In this hypothesis, light Goblins have evolved to form a diplomatic role of sorts between the underground tribes of Goblins and Kobolds and the human overworld.

….

Yet, across the Atlantic, having arrived in the continental Americas via the same land/ice-bridge that existed between Siberia and Alaska between 21.000 and 11.000 BC, the Pukwudgy thrived. A subspecies of Goblin on the same level of descendancy as the Dark Goblins, the Pukwudgy evolved to suite a cold harsh climate with a limited food-web. They survive readily enough in typically arctic environments, but they absolutely thrived in the lush and rich urforests of the continental Americas. Their presence on the continent evidently preceded human habitation, by about 2.000 years general. And when humans finally arrived, the Pukwudgy usually retreated to the deepest groves, the highest peaks and the remotest islands. However, they could not escape human contact for long.

Begrudgingly, Pukwudgy developped a respectable bond with the native human tribes of the Americas – with both parties delineating their territories clearly and with mutual consent. Untill the Colonists arrived, these was no real conflict between Pukwudgy and man.

...

As for Leprechauns, who has not heard of them – or their more dangerous cousins, the Clurichauns? Jovial, mild-tempered, witty – Leprechauns have enjoyed contact with humans ever since it began. Originally native exclusively to Ireland, they spread throughout the British Isles between 15.000 and 13.000 BC. It is hypothesized that they encompassed the whole of Doggerland (the entire area between Ireland, France and Denmark) as their territory at its height, before it was swallowed up by the sea between 6.500 and 6.200 BC.

The direct destruction of Doggerland is thought to have led to the eventual rise of Clurichauns, who are, in general, a more ruthless variation of the Leprechaun. Nowadays, they have become fully separate species, with Leprechauns being a human-friendly culture – while Clurichauns have ensconced themselves in their fairy-mounds and only permit Leprechauns to talk and trade with them. In this, we can make a similar distinction as between Kobolds, Dark Goblins, and light Goblins.

Another descendant species from these Irish beings are the Gnomes, with their myriad subspecies and hybrid offpsring. It is not clear, however, if Gnomes came before or after Leprechauns were established as a species separate from the other Goblini genus. Some think Gnomes are an atavistic throwback, to a farflung common ancestor between all Goblini genus. Others think Gnomes are an evolutionary regression, to deal with the pressures of human habitation and influence on the natural world, a regression of sorts that discards the finesse of sentience and far-developped culture for the ease of a semi-civilized survival of the fittest.

...

Indeed, Gernumbli Gardensi, the Common Gnome or Garden Gnome (lit.tr. “Happy-on-the-Ground”+”Garden”), is vilified as a pest – rather than recognized as a keystone predator-species that enables a stable balance between magical species in any garden where they're present. Without the common Gnome, finding a natural balance between magical plants and their predator insects is difficult and requires extensive support via perma-charms and various magical pesticides. Tripping over a few gnome-holes in exchange is a fair trade, many herbologists say.

Able to move through solid earth (though not through rock), gnomes are quite adept at rooting out burrowing pests, such as moles and the like. Their magical passage through earth also enriches the soil with aural thaum, enabling the improved growth of magical plants (and through those plants, magical herbivores and their predators). Statistics imply that the permanent presence of gnomes in an area encourage magical plants to grow by a factor of 1.79 that of normal rates. This is a serious boon, as it almost solely gaurantees a double yield of most magical herbs and spices on a yearly basis.

Though many rumours persist that gnome-saliva is a powerful coagulant or enables the quick recovery from wounds, these remain unfounded in evidence. No scientific evidence is found, as of yet, that proves these miraculous claims to have any veracity. All you're liable to get from smearong gnome saliva upon your wounds is sepsis, bacterial infection of gangrene. If a gnome bites you, it is adviced the wound is thoroughly cleansed and afterwards treated with undiluted essence of Dittany.

…

Imps , too, are considered a garden-pest. Clever, devious, and with a wicked sense of slap-stick humor, they often play practical jokes and tricks on unwitting humans. Witches and Wizards have only a marginally better chance of seeing through the tricks of an Imp – so deep runs their celeverness.

There is contention about wether or not to classify Imps as a Goblini genus. Rather, some say they belong more to the Troglodytarum subtribes, together with Ogres, Ghouls, and the likes. However, archeaological evidence points towards a Goblini ancestor, if rather far back in time.

…

Doxies are believed to have arisen from Imps after breeding between Imps and Fairies, creating a rather uncouth and hideous hybrid that has all the vanity and jealousy of a Fairy and all the deviousness, wit and violent tendencies of Imps. Doxies were first recorded, with unmistakable evidence, around 150BC.

…

Fairies have been around since time immemorial, being depicted in the Lascaux cave-paintings together with Kobolds and Giants. They are, thus, considered one of the Shape-Siblings for many native spiritual beliefs and cultures. This bond of sister- and brotherhood between Giants, humans, Goblins, and Fairies, is recognized in the archeaological evidence of over 150 countries' earliest cultures. Indeed, the Sibling-belief has arisen independantly on at least three continents (Africa, Asia, Europe) in 23 different cultures across a time-span of 25.000 years.

…

Sprites, descended from Fairies, considering their relatively modern appearance (ca. 900AD), usually fulfill a trickster-role. They lure people to their early deaths, by appearing like balls of light across moors and swamps. Interesting, however, is the fact that they never lure children or less-able people. Neurodivergents, paraplegics, low-functioning trauma-patients, … People usually falling outside the category of 'normal' are never their victims.

Van Helsing's research regarding Sprites, as documented in his 1598 thesis, “Studio in Filumbra” ('On the Study of Sprites'), documents that 75% of Sprite victims are usually people recorded as having commited heinous crimes of certain severity. Usually, murderers make up the brunt of their victims, accounting to 60% of the victims – with psychopaths/sociopaths making up a further 15%. The remaining 25% of victims are seemingly innocent – though Van Helsing supposes that these victims, too, commited similar crimes of a sort and simply got away with it by not being caught or implicated.

Why Sprites seem to exclusively hunt such individuals is not known – nor is really known why they lure the victims to their deaths. Sprites seem to have a strictly vegetable diet, susbsisting on mosses, peat, and grasses. There is some rumour that they thrive on the souls of their victims, in a manner similar to Lethifolds and Dementors – but thus remains unproven.

...

Sprites, as shown before, thus border the line between natural and paranatural. Having given up part of their physical existence for the benefits of a thaumaural shape, they are as much matter as they are energy.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Doggerland was an area of land, now submerged beneath the southern North Sea, that connected Britain to mainland Europe. It was flooded by rising sea levels around 6500–6200 BC. Geological surveys have suggested that it stretched from where Britain's east coast now is to the present-day Netherlands, western coast of Germany, and peninsula of Jutland. It was probably a rich habitat with human habitation in the Mesolithic period, although rising sea levels gradually reduced it to low-lying islands before its final submergence, possibly following a tsunami caused by the Storegga Slide.
> 
> Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72 degrees north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula.[1] It includes the Chukchi Sea, the Bering Sea, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi and Kamchatka Peninsulas in Russia as well as Alaska in the United States. 
> 
> It is believed that a small human population of at most a few thousand arrived in Beringia from eastern Siberia during the Last Glacial Maximum before expanding into the settlement of the Americas sometime after 16,500 years BP. This would have occurred as the American glaciers blocking the way southward melted, but before the bridge was covered by the sea about 11,000 years BP.


	9. On Magical Creatures – Hominanus.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the relations between species in the subtribe Hominanus, as cognate separate collections of species in the tribe Homini, set apart from the non-magical subtribes Homo and Pan, and magical subtribes Troglodytarum, Lamiarum and Goblini.

The subtribe Hominanus encompasses, per current agreement, twelve species and subspecies, divided in four seperate genus;

  * Dwarves (Hominanus Nanus)

    * Redcaps (Hominanus Nanus 'Sangra')

      * Dunter (Hominanus Powrii)

    * Curupira (Hominanus Curupira)

  * Pogebrins (Hominanus Pogebrin)

  * Erklings (Hominanus Irx)

    * Bavarian Erklings (Hominanus Irx 'Bavarius')

    * Nari (Hominanus Naris)

  * House-Elves (Hominanus Servitor)

    * Farfadet (Daemonai Fadetii)

      * Fatori (Daemonai Fator)

    * Yumbo (Hominanus Yumbo)




“Historically, Dwarves have been one of the most well-recognized magical Beings across the wixen and muggle-cultures. Their diminutive stature, extreme physical strength, love for all artisan crafts, and ability to 'smell' even the rarest gems through durable strata of rock, all this has made them a valuable allly in many wixen-ventures.

Originally native to Northern-Europe, they were historically confined to the Ural mountain-range, never venturing far from those cold peaks and certainly never beyond the foothils of that range. Only in fairly modern times, circa 950AD, did the first Dwarves venture beyond their ancestral lands, following human migration from Russia towards Siberia. Fromthere on out, using their own unique brand of magick, they soon spread to most of the world's extensive mountain-ranges, often bringing them into conflict with local populations of Goblins and their brethren.

Between 1.300 and 1.500 AD, several small wars broke out between Dwarves and Goblins, instigated by a long-ongoing territorial dispute between the Dwarf- and Goblin-colonies of the Richardson Mountains, in the Brooks Range, North America/Canada. The dispute came to a head when a Dwarf was struck down by a falling tree and died – the tree had been hit by the Dwarf's axe and succumbed under the blow, but Dwarves took the opportunity to claim vendetta against the Goblins, saying it was a Goblin that began the discussion and thus killed the Dwarf by making the Dwarf strike the tree.

The local war spread across the neighbouring territories, all the way back to the Ural and into Europe. The tension in the Goblin-cultures across the globe was further increased when Wizards began to interfere with the Goblin banking-cultures in Europe. This eventually lead to the numerous Goblin Rebellions against Wixen governments.

…

A dangerous subspecies of Dwarf are the Redcaps, who delight in haunting fresh battlefields, bathing in the blood of slain humans and using corpses to build rudimentary weapons, huts, and traps. A favourite weapon is a human thighbone, which they wield with frightening efficiency and purpose. A single Redcap, to a Wixen, is no real threat – but to an unaware Muggle, a single Redcap can be a death-sentence.

The peculiar resemblance to House-Elves that Redcaps are famous for is a slight indication of their known origin, namely the possesion of Dwarves by Fatori, as these demons can be Summoned merely by the copious spilling of blood on unhallowed ground. Indeed, Fatori have always been known to haunt forgotten battlefields where none left alive and all were slain.

Redcaps, being a Possessed creature initially, have thus a rather limited population, though they are known to breed between themselves, an union that produces Dunters, a type of 'natural' Redcap that like to haunt dungeons and caves. Eventually, all Redcaps either perish due to the effects of long-term possession or due to their bloodthirsty nature finally attracting a worthy foe, usually a Wixen who promptly slays the creature.

As such, there are no truly native colonies of Redcaps. Rather, they are an opportunistic species that arises naturally on any battlefield suitable to attract Fatori and near enough to a Dwarven burrow. What populations of Dunter that exist, however, are thightly controlled and kept small. Dunters are generally rather harmless, though they share a similar ecological role as the Grimm and the Banshee, able to sense an impending or approaching death and warning any living nearby of this by making the noise of a grinding grain-quern.

...

However, in South-America, the Dwarves underwent distinct evolutionary changes, in part due to local magical plants and in part due to the thaumaley that shape the magi-geography of that continent. Developping backwards-facing feet and gaining a shaggy coat of orange hair, they became a distinctly different species alltogether, locally known as Curupira.

The feet seem to be a change due to the fact that the Curupira were locally hunted by native tribes, who believed that eating their heart was a way of gaining their inate powers.

…

As for their powers, Curupira are generally believed to have the inate power of illusion, able to conjure all manner of illusion to aid their goals of protecting the wildlife and hunting poachers. Their whistling language is known to drive Muggles insane, due to its sympathetic harmonisations, and it is one of the most complex languages on the world, be it Magical of Muggle.

...

The Pogrebin is attracted to Humans, and enjoys trailing them. When the Human turns around, the Pogrebin crouches down, and, because of its large head, resembles a rock. If the beast manages to tail a Human for a few hours, a sense of despair and futility will wash over the Human. When the victim sits or sinks to its knees to weep, the Pogrebin attacks and attempts to devour them.

The Pogrebin seems to have a pecular connection with the Common Gnome, in part due to their similar appearance and due to their tendency to burrow their nests near human habitation like Gnomes do. Beyond that, howeve,r there is little evidence to suggest they are somehow related and all conventional agreement is that Pogrebin are very much related more to Dwarves and the like.

…

Bavarian Erklings are the worst of the lot, being extremely violent and with a tendency to breed quickly. A single pair of mating Erklings of this variaty can produce up to 70 offspring within their lifetime, a near exponential rate of growth in colonies of ten or more pairs initially – and considering that Erklings are mature from 1 year of age makes this even worse.

It is advised by the Confederation that non-native populations are Bavarian Erklings, and Nari for that matter, are exterminated once they are identified, to prevent a decimation of the local ecosystem and a potential breach of the Statute of Secrecy.

…

The Nari, having gained their name from Norse mythology, are believed by some to be the source of the Lycantrophy-curse – though if this is true, is unproven. More likely, this rumour comes from the Norse myths syrrounding the binding of Loki by the entrails of his son Nari after the latter was disembowled by his brother Narfi, who had been changed into a wolf by the other gods. This link of a man being changed into a wolf and killing his brother, is undoubtedly the origin of this rumour.

The Nari, though possessed of an inate ability to change their appearance mildly, are a relatively peaceful race, considering their close relations to Erklings. They often root in ancient grooves, protecting the spot from human interference and tending to all the flora and fauna in their territory.

...

And so, at last, we come to House-Elves, the most valuable servitor-race en employ by wixenkind. They are smart, strong, well-adept at higher forms of magic, and loyal to a fault.

The exact origins of House-Elves are lost, but are presumed to be Phoenician, first documented sometime around 2.500BC in clay-tablet mentioning an exchange between owners of “one bound fator worth twice the owner's weight in grain”. This is also the oldest clue pointing towards their descendance from Fatori, servitor-demons bound to their Summoner by blood and life.

...

And, of course, how could we forget to mention some notable individuals in House-Elf society, such as Mooky the House-Elf? Or Pitts the Eager?

…

So, in 1799, as the three sons of the Lord were about to cross the North-Sea, the ship upon which they'd been sailing was caught in a severe storm. Quickly, the ship started taking in water and the sons, untrained in Apparition or Bubblehead-Charms, were surely to perish. But one of the sons had the nouse to call upon their family's House-Elf, Mooky, who came swiftly to the rescue and saved all three sons, but succumbed to magical exhaustion and went down with the ship. In honour of his deed, Mooky was enshrined as a hero via many statues erected in his honour in the Ministry, Diagon Alley and Hogwarts.

Even now, almost 200 years later, Mooky is still hailed as the eppithome of a heroic House-Elf and loyal servant to his family.

…

And amongst the famous Hogwarts House-Elves, none is as famous as Pitts the Eager, who came into employment at Hogwarts in 1888, serving the school faithfully for the past 111 years. Since promoted as Head of Kitchen, Pitts is almost solely responsible for all administrative functions in Hogwarts' kitchens.

...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The North American Cordillera is the North American portion of the American Cordillera which is a mountain chain (cordillera) along the western side of the Americas. The North American Cordillera covers an extensive area of mountain ranges, intermontane basins, and plateaus in western North America, including much of the territory west of the Great Plains. It is also sometimes called the Western Cordillera, the Western Cordillera of North America, or the Pacific Cordillera.  
> The Richardson Mountains are a mountain range located west of the mouth of the Mackenzie River in northern Yukon, Canada. They parallel the northernmost part of the boundary between Yukon and Northwest Territories.
> 
> The Brooks Range (Athabaskan Gwazhał) is a mountain range in far northern North America stretching some 700 miles (1,100km) from west to east across northern Alaska into Canada's Yukon Territory. Reaching a peak elevation of 8,976 feet (2,736m) on Mount Isto, the range is believed to be approximately 126 million years old.  
> In the United States, these mountains are considered an extension of the Rocky Mountains, whereas in Canada they are considered separate, the northern border of the Rocky Mountains regarded as the Liard River far to the south in the province of British Columbia.  
> The Curupira (Portuguese pronunciation:[kuɾuˈpiɾɐ]) is a mythological creature of Brazilian folklore. This creature blends many features of West African and European fairies but was usually regarded as a demonic figure.  
> The redcap (or Redcap) is a type of malevolent, murderous goblin found in Border folklore. He is said to inhabit ruined castles along the Anglo-Scottish border, especially those that were the scenes of tyranny or wicked deeds, and is known for soaking his cap in the blood of his victims. He is also known as Redcomb and Bloody Cap.
> 
> According to the 19th-century folklorist William Henderson, the dunter, or powrie, is distinct from the redcap. Like the redcap, he inhabits old Border forts, castles and peel towers, but its main activity is to make a noise like the beating of flax or the grinding of barley in a hollow stone quern. If this sound goes on longer or louder than usual, it is considered an omen of death or misfortune. Popular tradition states that these Border castles were built by the Picts who bathed the foundation stones in human blood, which often resulted in such hauntings. Dunters and redcaps may have been conceived as spirits of the original foundation sacrifices.
> 
> In Norse mythology, Narfi is a son of Loki, referred to in a number of sources. According to the Gylfaginning section of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda, he was also called Nari and was killed by his brother Váli, who was transformed into a wolf; in a prose passage at the end of the Eddic poem "Lokasenna", Váli became a wolf and his brother Nari was killed. 
> 
> Farfadet is a French-Provençal folkloristic imp that cleaned the houses and farms of poor people, wishing no reimbursements safe for some food or drink in exchange for their efforts. Their name comes from the Latin Fata, root-word Fatus/For (To Speak, To Say), probably referring to the Farfadets listening to the woes of a farmer and doing the jobs the farmer laments of still having to do.  
> As such, I have presumed an older type of Demon, called Fatori (being a summoned Demon that thus must listen to their Master's every wishes).


	10. On the Lessening - the End of the Silver Age

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An explanation of the Lessening and a sensitive subject is being touched upon.
> 
> TW; Colonialism, Imperialism (and many forms of discrimination currently present as a consequence of these historical actions).

“... and thus the Lessening, as historical scholars and classical researchers have come to call it by 1699, is intrinsically tied into the slow but gradual decay of Hogwarts' Magickal foundations. Further evidence of this can be found in the casual yet disconcerting “decay” of the Forbidden Forest – which used to be called the Greenwood by all local Wixen inhabitants and the School's custodians. Its gradual corruption has only been staved off in its acceleration by the introduction of the current herd of Centaurs circa 1780 – when a herd native to South-West Wales sought protection due to the ever-growing encroachment of Muggle expansion upon their native pastures. The Aarde Accords were signed in 1791, solidifying and finalizing the herds' right to claim the Greenwood as their own and act is its own custodians and protectors. In the next chapter, we shall discuss the importance of this decision on the native magi-flora still found around Hogwarts today...”

“Though most of the School remains unaffected by the Lessening, certain areas have seen a noticeably diminishing since 1495 – and the rate of shrinking has steadily increased since 1713, and worsened again in 1941. It only became stable around 1981, presumably due to the death of the Dark Lord Voldemort, who had been fostering an imbalance between the Courts bound to've been fatal had he not been beaten. However, even though the Lessening has stabilized, it has not stopped....

At current rates, it is predicted that Hogwarts will reach a point of no return in terms of stability and probably recovery as early as 2012 and as certain as 2020. No contingency plans have been made public, or known to be developed, by the Ministry in regards to Hogwarts' future once this point has been reached. One thing remains certain, however, and that is that Hogwarts will not be able to function as a School of Witchcraft and Wizardry should this point be reached – due to the inherent instability of its countless Wards and Extension Charms by that point. Using the superstructure to teach magic beyond this point will invariably cause a Dark Meridin Threshold Event, causing a tempo-spatial causal collapse of the superstructure down to its Founding, predicted to erase it – and anyone caught in the Event – to be effectively erased from history. It's further predicted this will cause a Moth Ripple causation, by which all recorded and remembered knowledge of the School will eventually be erased completely – though researchers estimate the chances of this happening to be less than 5%, with an error-margin of 2% for each year beyond the earliest predicted year...”

“... indeed, the earliest recorded signs of Hogwarts' Lessening date from 1501 – though it was only recognized as such once the Lessening became more properly recorded and researched. As in the words of famed Wixen poet Barnabas Collins;

“Oh Hogwarts fair and proud,  
with thy turrets and towers high,  
boundless harvest in wood green  
and lake calm and clear,

Oh how I long for thee,  
and thy wells of lore,  
from days beyond my years  
to centuries beyond my death,

But lo, I see thee wilt,  
Lesser already hast thou become,  
No longer clear are the walls  
of thy Grand Hall.

And corridors I have lost,  
never again found even now,  
which'd been there before  
the lights slowly dim...”

Other evidences of the Lessening can be found, for example in sketches and doodles from students between 1530 and 1630, showing the same corridors yet evidencing heavy alterations in the years between. The corridors were identified via the unchanged elements – such as placement of windows, number of windows, ...”

“Certain fringe theories, not generally regarded as credible or even plausible, point to a hypotheses of gradual magickal decline across the European continent. Historical scholars, however, have demonstrated that the unmatched feats of wizardry recorded in folklore and legend are not, indeed, the effect of a greater abundance of magickal energies purported to exist in the time those events took place – but are rather the natural result of subtle embellishments as often made in orally recorded tales...”

“... and it is strange, then, to recognize that the effects of the Lessening are not recorded worldwide or even at all beyond certain areas. Indeed, though magickal wells of power have diminished across the world since the 1500's, the Lessening is not evidently present in the African heartlands, the Indian Subcontinent, the Japanese Islands, the Zeelandian Islands, the South-American heartlands, …”

“American Wixen First Nations are mourning the loss of Proudfoot Merryweather (public name, not his true name, to be used when adressing him outside his private circles), the last child of the uncolonised First Nations born before the European powers began colonizing the New World continents. Born on the 20th of June, 1492, he experienced first-hand the initial waves of European colonisation and exploitation of his people and their Wixen subgroups. He survived, and became...

...

The loss of this incredible leader marks the end of an Age, as many considered him the last true Mage of the Silver Age. Indeed, Merryweather's incredible longevity was always a subject of admiration and debate, often leading to intrusive questioning and breaches of his personal privacy in both his private estate and his clan's territorial grounds. His last comment on this sensitive subject was given publicly in 1952, before he was officially granted a Taboo on the subject, preventing further questioning of it afterwards. “My age is nothing more than the will of the Spirits, of my ancestors, the lands which I swore to protect, and the energies given to me by those who believe in me and trusted me to protect them. She has given me long life to restore my people's hopes, indeed the hopes of all First Nation cultures across the world. A wrong must be made right, and though I shall not see this come to fruit, I shall have planted the seeds for others to harvest when they blossom. So mote it be.”...

There are those who call for a new Age to be heralded, and tough this is generally accepted as to be done, debate rages heavily about what to call it. Popular opinion to call this new chapter in Wixen global history the Bronze Age is derided by several magical leaders across the world who deny this age should be held or regarded to lower standards than the previous.

“This is a momentous occasion, as we can truly step into the future and grasp it with our hands. Tough sad as it is to see an age of classical wealth and power come to an end, we must recognize the following; We are not a Lesser Time! We stand on the shoulders of giants and we shall continue to strive for great achievements, as ever before!...” This speech by Minister Cornelius Fudge, current political elected leader of the Wixen Isles of Britain, was wholeheartedly accepted by his contemporaries across Europe and North-America, though it was derided as Colonial Imperialist propaganda by several leaders across Africa and Asia – who gladly reminded him of the continued decline of magical prowess across the globe, a subject heavily debated in academical circles...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June 20th 1492 was the summer solstice in North America, just a few months before the Colonizer Columbus set foot on the American continental shelf and, in a profound display of ignorance and arrogance, claimed the lands in the name of the King and Queen of Spain - this starting almost 500 years of unbridled colonisation and permanently disfiguring local cultures across non-European areas. Only now, emboldened by pride in heritage and local folklore, are First Nation descendants beginning to reclaim their lost heritage and lands...
> 
> This is an incredibly sensitive subject, yet I find it should not be tiptoed around. It should be recognized, acknowledged and actively discussed. If any of the stuff written in this chapter comes over as condenscenting or arrogant, please comment so I can revisit this at a later time to more accurately reflect the painful reality.


	11. On Magickal Portraits & Photographs.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the discovery of the Vitamimus Charm, the communicative properties of magical paintings, and the discovery of the Locomoter Draught.

“The Vitamimus Charm is, undoubtedly, one of the most well-known Charms if not particularly a well-practiced one. Used to imbue a painting with a sense of life and personality, the efficacy of the Charm depends wholly on the level of control the caster has over their magickal core and how well developed that core is. As such, it is often assumed wrongly that haughty or arrogant people can not cast the Charm successfully – however, many examples to the contrary are recorded.

For as 'simple' as the casting of the Charm is, the difficulty of its execution makes it notorious. Many people, when attempting the Charm, often spectacularly fail at it – and as such, subsequent practice is often waylaid by bruised ego's. In actuality, the incantation and wand-movement are the easiest parts. The hard part is imbuing the spell with a deep sense of intent, focussed around a clear image of a mental self-portrait. As such, artefacts enchanted with the spell benefit from regular re-casting as the caster imbues the artefact with a new piece of personality with each successful cast...

Developed around 1300, the creator of the spell is unknown – but it began, with certainty, near the Middle East. The first recorded instances of Vitamimus-enchanted artefacts dates from Alexandria, Egypt – where 'alive busts' were sold on the black market to curious Sheiks and Sultans via intermediaries. The first recorded instance of the charm in Europe was circa 1320, when the Gryffindor family commissioned a portrait of Godric Gryffindor. However, due the fact that Godric was long dead by this point, the now-lost portrait was not a true mirror of Godric's personality. The spell was cast by the family patriarch, though the imbued personality traits were carefully selected by referencing history and biographies...

… however, one of the few unintended side-effects of the spell were not discovered until 1493, when the Maharajah Sing I had three separate portraits commissioned of himself and cast the spell on each a total of twenty-nine times before he eventually died. When the paintings were later installed in various government locations throughout India, it was discovered that they could wander from painting to painting – but only to the paintings of their 'siblings'. Later experimentations discovered permutations in the casting of the spell that would allow the same effect across previously unconnected paintings. Nowadays, moving paintings form a simple way of communication between people of influence – such as between the Minister of Magic and the Muggle Prime Minister.”

“ **The Vitamimus Charm – Vitamimi Ecfigius.**

Wand-arm at 20° angle, wand held outwards in loose hand on 0° angle (horizontal).

Starting from here, raise wand in clean arc inwards, ending on 0° angle (horizontal).

From there, cut diagonally outwards while incanting the spell - hold aspect of personality clearly in mind throughout all steps.

From diagonal cut end, raise straight up and end with arm at 30° angle.

Repeat every month to strengthen the spell and add new personality traits.

Preferably, cast on a new moon (initially) and cast again on a full moon (repeating).

**Addendum** : Experimentation shows a clear preference to holly and oak wands for best results & poorer results when cast with yew or vine.”

“The Locomotor Draught was created in 1789, by Lord Percival Rembrandt the Elder, Master Potioneer, Master of Charms and Hexes. Based on the Spell of similar name and function, it is one of the few instances where a potion has managed to replicate the intended consequences of a spell – though not without a few caveats and exceptions.

Initially disregarded as a failed attempt at imbuing small statues with a temporary semblance of life via repetitive locomotion without the constant need of energy supplied by the magical core of the caster, it found a more promising potential use when the Muggle-Bourne inventor Thomas Wedgewood discovered the usage of silver nitrate to make simple shadow pictures with an advanced camera obscura. Utilizing magic to enhance the images beyond the non-magical capabilities of the device, he created the first proper photograph in 1803. Due to the magical assistance needed to clarify the pictures, his design of 'camera' did not find a way into the Muggle sciences until 1826 – when another Muggle independently designed a functional non-magical camera.

First trials with the potions happened in joint cooperation between Lord Percival and Master Thomas, resulting in the first successfully animated photograph in 1827. The photograph can be viewed at the Ministry's National Museum of Wixen Arts in Dublin, where it is viewed by thousands of Wixen on a yearly basis.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Addendum: The Vitamimus Charm and Locomotor Draught are both derived, directly and indirectly, of the Piertotum Locomotor Charm (which was developped centuries before by the Ptolemeïan Dynasty in Egypt). Where Piertotim enacts upon inanimate objects to make them perform a certain set of actions, Vitamimus imbues an inanimate object with the caster's personality and the Locomotor Draught imbues a picture with a looped animation.


	12. On Hogwarts' Ghosts - The Fat Friar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the life and history of the Fat Friar, prior and after his death, his tenure at Hogwarts, and his character.

The Fat Friar, part of the Dominican Order in the British Isles, also known as the Black Friar House Hufflepuff in reference to the colour of his capa, was born circa 982 and was personally thaught by Helga Hufflepuff during his education at Hogwarts from 993 to 1000. After completing his Mastership in Herbology circa 1005 and Potioneering circa 1010, he travelled across Europe until 1210, when he joined the not-yet-approved Dominican Order whilst residing in France's Provence region. With a goal to formalize education across Muggle Europe in a time when education was still very much a formal excercize mostly reserved for the elite, the Fat Friar (born as Simon the Fisher, son of Thomas the Fisher (Muggle) and Eleanor Baker (Wixen)) joined the mendican order of the Dominican Friars as a way of helping the less fortunate in Muggle society.

However, he soon became targeted by anti-Wixen sentiments when he continued his ill-advised habit of pulling rabbits out of the communion cup to delight children prior to his services. He was formally arrested circa September 1243 and trialled for witchcraft. Found guilty after a short trial, he was hanged around October 1243 and buried in an unmarked pauper's grave outside the church-yard. He re-appeared as a spectre in Hogwarts on December 21th 1243, on the day of the Winter Solstice. After a few years of despondency, his jovial character rebounded and he pledged his formal services as official Ghost for House Hufflepuff in 1259.

From personal interviews throughout the centuries, we know that he completed the Animagus Ritual and had the form of a Grimm when transformed (which earned him chuckles from fellow Wixen during his life, in regards to the reference of Domini Canes, “the Lord's Hounds”, a mock-title which refered to the Dominican Order, used by rival mendican orders or those derigatory of their goals). He was most proficient in Charms and wordless casting, but never mastered wandless magic, leading to his unfortunate demise (his wand was confiscated after his fellow mendicans grew suspicious of his ability to cure the pox in commoners by poking them with a stick).

He ashamedly admitted that he used his charming and jovial personality to succesfully beg on the streets for many things, as his Order desired, and that he used this pretence to also laviously partake in food and drink when he could. Nevertheless, he asserts that he never demanded or took what people could not miss. And he freely admits that he often used his proficiency in Charms to duplicate food using Permanent Charms and so feed the poor. As part of his duties as a Black Friar, he also took care of many terminally ill Muggles, being by their side throughout their end and burrying them when no one else would. Whatever possesions he was gifted as thanks for these services, he always distributed amongst the poor living at the deceased's neighbourhood.

When asked why he came back and what his regret or unfullfilled desire was, the Friar once said that “no matter the length of my life or the eternity of my afterlife, my duty to care and educate, to assist and befriend, will not end till the Lord Almighty gives his blessing for me to rest”. In this spirit of mind, the Fat Friar dutifully performs the tasks assigned to him as a House Ghost – patrolling the Dungeons, supervising the students of House Hufflepuff, acting as Mind-Healer for students in House Hufflepuff, mediating between bickering spectres, educating and tempering Peeves the Poltergeist, uplifting the Bloody Baron when he is in his melancholy moods, …

Without a doubt, it can be said that the Fat Friar has one of the most generous and positive histories amongst all of Hogwarts' spectres.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Researching the Fat Friar was loads of fun - and I might do a chapter for each House Ghost.


	13. On the Godpair of Justice & Law

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On Lugh-Utu and Justicia, the godpair of Justice and Law, who preside over the pantheon of law that is the Wizengamot and Wixen justice in the Brittish Isles.

Rite of Magickal Majority is an often desperate call upon magick to favour her chosen people in voting sessions by giving them veto, usually invoked by those desperate to prove their innocence – or used by those who have a majority of Wizengamot seats under their commands to officially prove their right for a veto-vote. Calling upon this rite activates the pair of statues of the dualistic male Lugh-Utu & female Justicia, who shall then test the magic of their caller and grant them a veto-vote if proven worthy.

Their statues stand atop a plint, behind the Minister's seat, overlooking the Wizengamot. Every Wizengamot session is, by Law, required to open by hailing their impartial and divine sense of justice before the agenda may be discussed. However, this custom has fallen in disrepair and the ritual hasn't been done in the last three centuries. The effects are obvious – though none can see them as such. Where they rule over the Laws of the Accords, they are also invoked to resolve conflicts in regards to the folk-ways of internal communities where the Laws have less bearing.

Their statues stand together, Lugh-Utu with left leg forwards and Justicia with right leg forward. In their hands, LU left hand and Justicia right hand, they clutch a yardstick together, which is exactly 1 el long (70 cm). Across his chest, clutched with his right hand, Lugh-Utu holds a ring and shepherds' crook (Egyptian crook). Upheld at the height of her shoulders with her left hand, Justicia upholds a set of scales, with an olive branch between her fingers. Upon the scales lay an augury feather (left scale) and a set of seven scrolls (the Wizengamot Accords, sanctified by Magick herself)(right scale). Held in a quiver on his back, Lugh-Utu carries the Spear of Assal and a golden pruning saw. Solar discs decorate his robes in patterns of golden weave. Justicia is blindfolded, with a third eye painted across her forehead in lapis lazuli dye. She carries on her left hip, a double-edged sword lacking a guard or pommel (for truth is a double-edges sword that spares neither liar or detective, and cuts fact from fiction). Their number is 6 (six) when together, but 2 (two) and 4 (four) when separate. Apart, they are not stable – and together they're more powerful. Their number is two pairs of three, one of the most powerful magickal numbers. Three is the wisdom of life's cycle of Maiden, Mother, Crone. Two is the harmony of Life and Death, fact and fiction, light and dark, of opposition and complements.

Lugh-Utu, a composite presentation of Sumerian and Celtic religious iconography for their respective gods of Justice, an union of old and new, east and west. Called the Long-Arm of justice in both religions, he is also an aspect of several solar deities and archetypes, with the solar disc as his main motive.

Justicia, also known as Dike or part of Dike, is the female goddess of justice in the Greek pantheon. She uses her sword to cut fact from fiction and her scales to weigh actions against recorded laws. With her blindfold, she distinguishes herself to only hear facts and not be biased by external appearances (such as societal status, gender, beauty, …).

Worship of their separate entities has been done for millennia, in Lugh-Utu's case since Mesopotamian times and for Justicia since the Roman Empire's conception. They are not solely representations of contemporary or historical deities, but rather serve as figure-heads of their general concepts, a recognition of the multitude of Magick's and divinity's faces. An amalgam of features, attributes, and rituals, they form a new whole that works because they're not just a single identity but a multitude of many as one, a legion masquerading as an individual pair.

Most Wixen worship varying deities, ranging from Utu to Lugh and Isis to Hecate to Panacea. Each deity is considered as valid as any other, and rituals are generally unstandardised, even though several more public holidays, such as Imbolc and Yule, are standardized according to pre-Christian spirituality and religious ritual. This is done solely to enable a public worship of magic and gratitude towards life, rather than solely as a celebration of the religious cults that supplied the rituals. Much as religions and populations have heavily diversified and changed in the intervening millennia, so too have all the ancient ways.

**Author's Note:**

> Gaol = the Wizarding prison as created and overseen by the Confederation, located in the magnetic Northpole in an Unplottable location. It is an obsidian cube, with no external exits, only able to be entered through Portkey, and guarded by Matagots and various guardian spirits. Will be further explained.


End file.
